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The Evil of Frankenstein
| language = English }} The Evil of Frankenstein is a 1964 British horror film made by Hammer Studio. Directed by Freddie Francis, the film stars Peter Cushing and New Zealand wrestler Kiwi Kingston. The film's version of the Monster is noted for resembling Universal Pictures' famous Frankenstein series of the 1930s and '40s, including the flat-headed look of Jack Pierce's monster make-up originally designed for Boris Karloff as well as the distinctive laboratory sets. Earlier Hammer Frankenstein movies had studiously avoided such similarities for copyright reasons but a new movie distribution deal with Universal helped provide some latitude. Plot Forced to leave town because of their experiments, Frankenstein and his young assistant Hans return to Frankenstein's hometown of Karlstad and set up their laboratory in the abandoned Frankenstein chateau. The locals are soon aware of their presence and, fearing a repeat of the terror caused by his earlier work, chase them away. With the help of a mute and deaf girl, Frankenstein then finds his original creation frozen inside a glacier and restores it to life. However, the creature will not respond to commands so Frankenstein comes up with the idea of obtaining the services of Zoltan, a disreputable carnival hypnotist, to hypnotize the monster into obeying him. Zoltan is successful but has less than scientific interests at heart and, with the monster responding only to his commands, uses it to rob and take revenge upon the town authorities. Reaction While loved by some, others regard the film as a less-than-satisfactory entry in the horror studio's run of Frankenstein films (which began with The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957). The film currently has a 5.8/10 on IMDb, with 1,023 user reviews; so it is safe to say similarly to the studio's later The Horror of Frankenstein, The Evil of Frankenstein is considered by most fans to be a "one off" from the series proper, rather than part of the actual continuity, partly because of its stylistic differences from the other films, and partly because Frankenstein's thawed out 'original' monster and the circumstances of its creation bear no resemblance to the creature from The Curse of Frankenstein. The flashback origin events given in this film completely contradict the events and their conclusion in Curse. However, Frankenstein's burnt and useless hands in the next entry in the series, Frankenstein Created Woman, are likely to be a reference back to the climactic conflagration in this movie. Cast * Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein * Peter Woodthorpe as Zoltan * Duncan Lamont as Chief of Police * Sandor Eles as Hans * Katy Wild as Rena * David Hutcheson as Burgomaster of Karlstaad * James Maxwell as Priest * Howard Goorney as Drunk * Anthony Blackshaw as Policeman * David Conville as Policeman * Caron Gardner as Burgomaster's Wife * Kiwi Kingston as the Creature External links * * Category:1964 films Category:Frankenstein films Category:1960s horror films Category:Hammer Film Productions horror films Category:British films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Freddie Francis Category:1964 Category:Film